Pat McMahon

When, why did simpler times change?

Here’s something I’ve wondered about for years. Maybe you have the answer.

At a business lunch on Tuesday, a woman was expressing thoughts on how society has changed over the years. She wasn’t talking about complex issues like the economy or fossil fuels or Islamic radicals. She simply wondered how we survived our childhood.

She was recalling riding her bike around the neighborhood with no helmet and no concussions. She went on to reflect nostalgically, as many of us have, about being outside all day from the end of lunch until dinnertime, playing rough games like keep-away and King of the Mountain. She acknowledged with wonder how any of us stayed out of the emergency ward.

If you’re over 50, can you honestly say you ever remember anyone in your school cafeteria that had a peanut allergy?

And where were all the molesters? I never heard of them when I was a kid. Are they something new or did they just not find me particularly attractive?